A Moment of Peace
by The Unfocused One
Summary: when your life is on the line, what would you give for A Moment of Peace? a short one-shot that was a birthday gift.


A Moment of Peace.

Written by: Revanhun

A/N

I would like to thank my good friend Revanhun for writing this for me as a birthday gift last April.

Thank you again, still waiting to edit the next chapter of Ways of Fate. ;P

Please send all comments, praise and money to him.

Also check out his story: Ways of Fate

Now on to the story!

* * *

The whole corridor echoed with the loud stamping of combat boots as the squad hastily tried to make their way out of the residential block. Winded, tired, scared, and low on every kind of relevant equipment or supplies, these Marines hardly resembled the ones who landed just a few days ago for a "routine inspection."

A radio cracked as the lieutenant came online.

_"Corporal, give me a sitrep!"_

The Marine running ahead of the three others angrily adjusted his microphone.

"It's FUBAR! The residential area is swarming with them, we're heading back to the tractor! ETA one minute!"

_"Copy that."_

The squad reached a junction, and spotted more xenomorphs to the left.

"Fire at will!" the corporal barked, and kneeled down, pointing his M41 towards the rapidly approaching aliens. One moment later, a hail of gunfire tore into their ranks, the whistling of the pulse rifles mixing with the dying screams of the xenos. The ammo counters on the rifles raced towards zero at a worrying speed.

"They're behind us!"

"Fuck it, let's go!" the corporal shouted, and began to run towards a side passage, where the end of the corridor beamed with some sunlight. On their desperate run towards safety, the corporal picked his last grenade from his belt, hit the primer and threw it behind them.

Three seconds later, the whole corridor was rocked by the explosion and lit up by a burst hydrogen fuel pipe. The enraged xenos came to an immediate stop as one of their kind was rapidly consumed by the flames as it tried to cross them. Their angry cries were like music to the corporal's ear, as the four Marines rushed out of the building, straight towards the awaiting Daihotai tractor. The once civilian vehicle now had a heavy machine gun on the top of it.

"Everybody in, clock's ticking!" the gunner yelled at them.

One of the Marines gave her the middle finger salute, the others got in without stopping.

"Pedal to the metal, they're right behind us!" the corporal said, and as if to drive the point home, the gunner opened up with her HMG, panning the entrance with long bursts.

The tractor's engine gave a loud roar and they began to race away.

The corporal turned towards his squad, and pulled off his helmet.

"That was too fucking cl-"

He was interrupted by a loud bang which was followed by others, and the door on the left side began to dent.

"We've got one on the side!" the machine gunner yelled "I can't reach the bastard!"

A hole appeared in the door. The sergeant quickly grabbed the fire extinguisher on his side, and smacked the emergency door release.

The door rapidly slid over, making the creature fully visible. As it opened its mouth, the soldier slammed the fire extinguisher into it.

"Eat this, motherfucker!" he yelled as he squeezed the trigger, the super-cool extinguishing foam poured out, straight into the monster's jaws. The outraged scream of the xeno was turned into a bubbly hurl, and it instinctively released the vehicle to get the intruder out of its jaw. By doing that, it fell off the tractor, and as the retreating Marines got a few yards away, the machine gunner reduced the monster into a puddle of greenish-yellow goo that started eating into the ground.

The sergeant slammed the door shut, and collapsed on the nearest bench.

"Guys." he began "You would not believe what I wouldn't give..." he stopped to light a cigarette, and after he blew out the first lung full of smoke, he continued:

"For a moment of peace."

* * *

Well, there you go. A story that was as much a gift as it was a kick in the ass to get me working on the first chapter of my Alien fic.


End file.
